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At sundown tonight, April 19, people of the Jewish faith will begin observance of Passover! It will last for seven days.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OBSERVANCE: Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. "Passover" commemorates God's sparing of the Hebrew firstborn as he saw the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of their houses on the night of the Tenth Plague. The Festival of the Unleavened Bread refers to the week-long period when leaven has been removed, and unleavened bread or matzah ("flatbread"), the holiday's primary symbol, is eaten to recall the rapid departure of the Israelites from Egypt.
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The next time you see a homeless person, look into his or her eyes.
If you do, you will get the most piercing reflection back. It will fill your soul.
If he/she is not dazed by drugs, you will feel the person’s pain and emotions and their shame in having to live this way. Looking into the eyes of that person, you can never turn away without feeling touched in some way.
How many of us truly care about the problems of the people who reach out to us outside subways and train stations, grocery and drug stores? We hand them a dollar, and we move on, not wanting to even look them in the eye. The reason is that if we do, we see our reflections back, i.e. they are just like you and I, except their circumstances have been altered.
Most of us think that getting too close by “seeing” is getting too close, indeed: I don’t want to KNOW you...whatever you did to bring you here is what you deserve!
Were it a member of our family, what would we do? Would we embrace the person just the same, without judgment or criticism? Or would we ignore them, offering no help? Some people would. But by and large, we probably would extend a welcoming arm to that person and embrace him/her in compassion and love, allowing a respite from life’s overwhelming challenges.
Recently, the Episcopalian minister at the local church I attend did a sermon on making our table big enough to include others. Often, she said, we don’t want to “invite” others to our table. "We have created a secure, safe world for ourselves with our immediate family, and there’s no extra 'room' for anyone else," she said. She then asked, “How big is your table?”
Indeed how big is YOUR table? Is your life inclusive of others, or only your immediate family?
I always felt my world was safe when I was little and surrounded by a large family. Indeed, it was only because of my nature to reach beyond my comfort zone that I encountered all types of challenges and situations to overcome. I survived these obstacle courses, because I’ve always lived with an openness to people. I care about my close friends, friends...and people... the way most do only about their family. I’m glad, because when my disappointments and challenges came, they were shared equally by my faithful friends.
The best weapons we can have against life’s storms and challenges are the love and support of an army of friends, who will erect a protective barrier to shield you! I’ve found that when you have an expansive enough attitude to life, even strangers are willing to pick up weapons of comfort, support and love and join your army to help you win!
Spirit works in your friends and strangers alike to intervene on your behalf!
When Jesus had his cross to carry, he fell down under its weight on his way to Damascus, and it was Simon who came along and helped him carry it. Likewise, when you have your "crosses" in life to bear, God will send you an "earth angel" to help you get back up and carry on with life! God ...Spirit...never gives us more crosses to carry ALONE than our weight can bear.
Beyond caring about others, how many people truly celebrate the victory of others? How many of us truly feel JOY when we hear someone from some state won the Mega Jackpot? Most of us think, “It has NOTHING to do with ME?”
Nothing to do with YOU? Indeed!
Someone else winning the lottery and feeling JOY has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH US! But most of us go through life with an “us” vs. “them” attitude, so we can’t see this.
“The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matt. 25:40***
This is a piece of scripture that we need to pay very close attention to in our embrace or lack of embrace of others. We should apply the same wisdom to our treatment of people in society, i.e. the poor vs. rich; our family vs. strangers.
The way you treat another...a stranger...the joy you feel for another...a stranger...will come back reflected to you in some way through some channel.
There is a ONENESS that runs through all of life’s experiences in the world, whether someone is homeless, or just won the lottery.
In someone else’s pain, we experience our own. In someone else’ joy, we experience our own.
The people we tend to despise the most are the people who are our reflections back to something within ourselves that we need to heal, or a reminder of a past behavior. So, instead of despising a person, examine the reason his or her behavior is such a turnoff to us: Is it a reminder of a past we thought we’d successfully put behind? Is it a fear we have about ourselves? Is it our own reflection that we see?
Whenever we meet people, we sometimes immediately feel drawn to some and repulsed by others. Each person, whether disliked or loved by us, is our own reflection of self...of the current condition of our soul. The reason we are drawn or repulsed can be found within.
Kindred souls do congregate. There is a comfort in feeling the sameness of our own moods, our own style, our own thinking reflected in someone else’s. There is a true companionship there.
But it is from the person who bears the least resemblance to us that we learn the most lessons. Those are the people who bear messages about the unexamined parts of our soul. The irritation...the dislike...the antipathy...should be a signal to us to go within. It is a signal for us to grow!
The omnipresent Spirit within us is able to recognize ourselves in others.
Envy, jealousy, hatred, animosity are all attributes when manifested in the Outer come reflected back to us in some form.
Love, forgiveness, support, helpfulness, and Joy, are reflected back to us, too, in the same measure “we mete out.”
Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant, Hindu or Muslim, Buddhist or Bahai, Unity or Unitarian: We are all ONE in Spirit and in the eyes of Pure Being!
Namaste’,
Che’
***"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much,” Luke 16:10.
See also: Matt: 25: 34-35
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